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Archaeological Research at Kathu Pan

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ProposalDescription: 

This permit application is for continued exploration of the archaeology of Kathu Pan. These doline infills exposed by sinkhole activity include archaeological material spanning the Earlier Stone Age through the Later Stone Age and also provide a valuable record of Pleistocene-Holocene paleoclimate. This research is part of ongoing efforts in collaboration with the McGregor Museum to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of the Kathu Complex, Gamagara Municipality, John Taolo Gaetsewe Distritct, Northern Cape Province.

Expanded_Motivation: 

Context: Kathu Pan contains a series of doline infill site exposed through sinkhole activity that preserves a sequence spanning Earlier Stone Age (Kathu Pan 1, Stratum 4b); Fauresmith (Kathu Pan 1, Stratum 4a; Kathu Pan 6, Bed 12); Middle Stone Age (Kath Pan 1, Stratum 3; Kathu Pan 6, Bed 12); Howiesons Poort (Kathu Pan 6, Bed 9-11; Kathu Pan 9) and Holocene (Kathu Pan 6, Bed 6). Excavations by P. Beaumont recovered a large assemblage of Acheulean (Kathu Pan 1, St. 4b), Fauresmith (Kathu Pan 1, St. 4a) artifacts, and MSA (Kathu Pan 1, St. 3) and associated fauna, along with smaller assemblages from other sinkholes. In 2004 our team reopened the excavation area in Kathu Pan 1 and cleaned sections to recover samples for dating. The results of this research (Porat et al. 2009) place the Fauresmith of St. 4a at ca. 450-500,000 BP based on both OSL and ESR ages. Research by Jayne Wilkins for her PhD thesis has demonstrated intentional blade production in St. 4a, thus establishing this contexts as among the earliest known sites with evidence of this technology (Wilkins and Chazan 2011). Further research by Wilkins suggests that points in the St. 4a assemblage were used as spear tips. We have continued excavation in Kathu Pan 1 in two seasons (2013-2014) and initiated excavations at Kathu Pan 6 and 9 (2015-2017). Dissertation research by Magdalena Sobol has provided a pollen record for the Holocene of Kathu Pan 1 with evidence of a wet phase ca. 4000 BP. Dissertation research by Vasa Lukich provides an OSL chronology for KP 6 (including the Howiesons Poort component) and KP 9, along with a detailed sedimentological and micromorphological analysis of the sedimentary profiles from these localities. Goals: This continued excavation at Kathu Pan has the following goals: 1. Connect the Acheulean and Fauresmith exposures at Kathu Pan 1 with the main profile to provide a continuous stratigraphic profile from the Holocene to Early Pleistocene. Recovery of in situ sediment samples in association with archaeological material for dating of Acheulean and to test the dating of the Fauresmith. 2. To identify and define the contact between Kathu Pan 1, St. 4a and 4b. 3. To expand sample of Wilton material from Kathu Pan 6, including faunal material. 4. To clarify the relationship between the Fauresmith and the overlying Middle Stone Age in Bed 12 at Kathu Pan 6 and to refine the dating of these two components. 5. To expand the Howiesons Poort exposure at Kathu Pan 9 and carry out dating of this context. 6. To document other exposures at Kathu Pan and monitor any new sinkhole activity. 7. Recovery of pollen, phytolith, and charcoal for paleoclimatic reconstruction. . Methods: Excavation takes place in 0.25 square meter units in spits of 5 cm. All finds are plotted in situ using a total station. Sediments screened through a 2 mm. mesh screen or processed through flotation machine for full recovery. Emphasis will be placed on in situ consolidation of rare faunal remains using methods developed by the Florisbad Research Station. All materials will be curated at the McGregor Museum. Conservation and analysis of faunal remains will take place at the Florisbad research station. Conservation: At the end of the excavation profile will be buttressed where appropriate using military sandbags and excavation trenches will be backfilled backfilled. This research takes place in the context of long-term planning by the McGregor Museum for the protection of Kathu Pan and other sites in the vicinity. Research Team: This project is an offshoot of the Wonderwerk Cave research project and shares much of the same personnel. Michael Chazan (University of Toronto): Project Director, Lithic Analysis David Morris (McGregor Museum): Site Management Wendy Black (IZIKO): LSA archaeology Liora Kolska Horwitz (Hebrew University): Taphonomy Naomi Porat (Israel Geological Survey): OSL Dating Vasa Lukich (University of Toronto): Geoarchaeology Francesco Berna (Simon Fraser University): Geoarchaeology Louis Scott (University of the Free State): Pollen Magdalena Sobol (University of Toronto): Pollen

ApplicationDate: 

Monday, March 4, 2019 - 20:45

CaseID: 

13538

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ReferenceList: 

Citation
2012. Wilkins, J. and M. Chazan. Blade production ~500 thousand years ago at Kathu Pan 1, South Africa: support for a multiple origins hypothesis for early Middle Pleistocene blade technology. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(6), 1883-1900. 2012. Wilkins, Jayne, Benjamin J. Schoville, Kyle S. Brown, and Michael Chazan. "Evidence for early hafted hunting technology." Science 338, no. 6109: 942-946. 2009. Porat, N., Chazan, M., Grun, R., Aubert, M., Eisenmann, V., Kolska-Horwitz, L New radiometric ages for the Fauresmith industry from Kathu Pan, Southern Africa: Implications for the Earlier to Middle Stone Age Transition. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 269-283. 2019 Lukich, Vasilija. Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction and Geochronology of the Archaeological Localities at Kathu Pan, South Africa. PhD Thesis, University of Toronto, Department of Earth Science. 2019 Sobol, Magdalena. Impacts of Late Quaternary Climate Changes on the Southern African Savanna Biome. PhD Thesis, University of Toronto, Department of Earth Science. In press. Lukich, Vasilija, Naomi Porat, Galina Faershtein, Sharon Cowling, Michael Chazan. New chronology and stratigraphy for Kathu Pan 6, South Africa. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology.
AdditionalDocuments
  1. PDF icon AGREEMENT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF COLLECTIONS Kathu Chazan application 2018.pdf
 
 

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